Trolley-catcher.



PATENTED JULY 17, 1906.

M. M. WOOD. TROLLEY OATGHER.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 7. 1904.

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APPLICATION FILED DEC. 7, 1904.

PATENTED JULY 17, 1906;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' WITNESSES INVENTOR:

$ MontravilleMXA opd, M 1W my.

UNI' ED sTATEs PATENT osmo- MONTRAVILLE M. VOOD, OF SOHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NETV YORK.

- TROLLEYL-CATCHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented ma 17, race.

To all whom it may concern.-

WOOD, 'a citizen of the United States, resid Be it known that I, MONTRAVILLE M.

, ing. at Schenectady, county of Schenectady,

'Stateof New York, have invented certain 'new and useful Improvements in Trolley- Catchers, of which. the following is a specification.

My present .invention has for its principal object the production ofa simple and improved form of device for automatically pulllng down. orretrieving devices such as trolley-poles used on street-cars and the like sition under the trolley-conductor.

' In carrying out my invention I secure one end of a rope or other flexible element to the 1 trolley-pole and the other end to a winding device. The Winding device will pay out and wind up the flexible member to permit the ordinary up-and-down movement of the trolley-pole under the action ofa suitable spring.

A sudden upwardmovement of the flexible member, however, such as occurs when the trolley jumps the trolley-wire, will open a valve, admitting a fluid, such as compressed a1r, nto a chamber to cause a movement'of a piston located therein. The movement of the piston thus produced not only causes the cord to be wound up in the winding device, but-also causes the winding device to-move bodily in the. direction to pull down the trolley-pole.

ing drawings and description, in which I have illustrated and described one embodiment of i my invention.

Of the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation with parts in section, showing a portion of the mechanism. Fig. 2 is an elevation with parts 7 broken away and in section, taken at right angle's to Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic representation showing the connection-between the retriever and the source of working fluid.

Fig. 4 is an elevation with parts broken-away and in section, showing the winding-device employed; and Fig. 5 is a side elevation, and Fig. 6 an end elevation, of a detail of the construction employed in the mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the cylinder or piston chamber of the device.

The cylinder 1 is formed with apertured lugs 2, by means of which it may be secured to the body of the car or other device upon which it is mounted. The lower end of the chamber 1 is closed by a chambered nut 3. The upper end of the cylinder 1 is closed by a cylinderhead 4, which is secured to the upper end of the cylinder by stud-bolts 4. A piston 5 has a sliding fit within the chamber 1. The piston -5 iscOnnected to a piston-rod 6, which passes through a stufling-box 7, formed for the purpose in and on the cylinder-head i.

A spring 8, within the chamber 1 normally holds thepiston-head, as shown in Fig. 1, nearly, but not quite, in contact with the piston-head 4. When the piston-head is moved downward in the manner herei'nbefor'e described, the spring 8 is compressed into a chambered nutS. The oyliuderhead 4 is chambered at 9'to receive a helical spring 10, which normally holds the piston-head 5 out of contact with the cylinder-head 4 under the action of the spring 8.

A sliding valve 11 normally closes a port 12 between the cylinder-chamber and a passage 13, formed in the cylinder-head 4. Suitable piping 14, one of the sections of which may be threaded into the passage 13, leads from a suitable source 15 (see Fig. 3)-of fluid under pressure to the passage 13. A valve 14 in the piping 14 forms a means for stopping communication between the reservoir and the passage. Ordinarily I connect this piping to the reservoir containing the compressed air used for the operation of the airbrakes on the vehicle. The compressed air in the passage 13 acts-on the upper surface of the valve 1 1 to normally hold the valve in the in which the stem 18 of the valve 11 slides,

and is held there by the'compressed air. A head 19 is formed on the outer end-of the valve-stem 18, by which the valve may be manually pushed back into position when desired A pair of posts or rods 20, which extend parallel to the piston-red 6, have their lower ends threaded into bosses 21, formed on the cylinder-head 4.- The upper ends of the posts are rigidly secured to a cross-head 22 by nuts 23 on their threaded ends. The cross-head 22 is formed with an apertured lug or extension 24, similar to the apertured lugs 2, through which a suitable bolt may pass to assist in securing the device to the car or vehicle on which it is mounted. The crosshead 22 is provided with a portion 25, which extends downward parallel to the posts 20. One side of the portion 25, which may be regarded as a rack-bar, is provided with gearteeth26. 4 I

A cross-head 30, provided with portions -3 l apertured to receive the posts 20, upon which the cross-head slides, is formed with a threaded openinginto which the upper end of the piston-rod 6 is threaded. The cross-head a is formed with a bearing in which a shaft 32,

@eXtending transversely to the piston-rod 6 and posts 20, is mounted. The cross-head 30 .{is formed with a chamber or recess 33, in

.. which a gear-Wheel 34, keyed to the shaft 32, was. The gear-wheel 34 meshes with the teeth 26 on the cross-head 22. ,I

- j I The winding device proper is mounted upon ."lftli e'shaft 32, which projects from the crosshead 30 for thepurpose. Thewinding defie mviee com rises two principal parts-an external win ing-drum 35 and an internal windin'g-drum 36. I The hub 37 of the external winding-drum 35 is keyed on the projecting end of the shaft 32.

The hub 36 of the in- 5 ternal winding-drum 36 is mounted to turn freely on a reduced portion 38 of the hub 37.

A spiral spring 39 has its inner end connected to the hub 37 and its outer end connected to the drum 36. 'A flexible memberor element 40 40, which may be in the form of a rope or cable, as shown, is wound about the external surface of the drum 36, which may be channeled, as indicated at 40. One endof the member 40 is secured to the drum 36, and the 5 free end of the member 40 passes through an aperture or slot 41 in the external drum 35.

In the normal position of the apparatus,

which is that shown in Fig. 1, the aperture 41 is so located that the flexible member 40 extends vertically through the slot 41 and tangentially away from the drum 36.

Normally drums 35 and 36 are connected only by the spring 39, and the flexible member 40 plays back and forth through the slot 41 as the trolley-pole rises and falls toniccommodate the varying elevations of the overhead conductor. The spring or other .meohanism which holds the trolley against the trolley-conductor tends to move the 00 member 40 in such a manner as to rotate the drum 36 in the direction indicated by the ar-.

row in Fig.4, while the spring 39 tends to r0;

tate the drum 36 in the o posite direction. I

A pawl 45 is pivotal y connected to the by a screw or bolt 46. A helical spring 47, having one end connected to the pawl and the other end connected to the drum 36,normally holds the pawl in the positionshown in Fig. 4, with its end engaging a stop 48 on the drum 36. A heavy arm or weight 49 is journaled' at oneend upon the hub 36. 50, extending substantially parallel to the spring 47 at the opposite sides of the line connecting the shaft 32 and the screw 46, con- Wei ht or arm 49.

T e comparatively slow oscillation of the drum 36 about its axis consequent upon the variations of elevation of the trolley-conductor does not disturb the position of the weighted arm 49, which then oscillates with the drum. A sudden upward jerk of the flexible member 40, however, such as occurs when the trolley jumps or slips the trol ley-wire, and the consequent sudden rotation .of the drum 36, will cause a relative movement between the drum 36 and the arm 49, which b reashn of its inertia will lag behind. The relative motion between the drum 36 and the arm 49 will cause the outer end of the pawl 45 to move outward and engage the ratchet-teeth 50, i"ormed on the inner pleriphery of the drum 35, thus lockinig t etwo drums together and causing the rum 35 to start to turn in the direction of the arrow in Fi 4. The rotation of the drum 35 in the direction ofthe arrow shown in Fig. 4 raises the cross-head 30, through the gear-wheel 34 and A link.

.nects an extension of the pawl 45to the 1 teeth 26, onthe cross-head 22, with which it piston-head forward to the lower end of the cylinder 1 and produces a corresponding downward movement of the cross-head 30, which pulls the flexible member 40 rapidly down, as it not only moves the drums 35 and 36 bodily downward, but causes them to turn about their axes through the engagement of the teeth on the gear-wheel 34 with the teeth 26 on the, cross-head 22. It will be understood that in its downward movement the drums 35 and 36 turn together and the flexible member 40 is wound about the outer periphery of the drum 35.

The downward movement of the pistonhead 5, and consequently of the cross-head 30, is hecked by the engagement of the piston-head with. the lower end of the cylinder 1. The engagement of the piston-head with the lower end of the cylinder is cushioned by the compression of the spring 8 and by the conpression of air inthe lower end of the cylm er.

The return of theap aratusto'its normal position is .accom lishe by manuallyforcing" the valve 11 bac to its normal position, in which it closes the port betweenv the passage 13 and the-interior of -the cylinder. When this occurs, the piston-head 5 is moved back to its original position by the spring 8. A;

small port or passage '55, formed in the pis ton-head, allows the air to pass slowly from to thejupper side of, the iston-headjt-o the space below the istonead as the pistonhead is forced up the spring 8.- "A port or passage 56, flformed in the lower end ofthe chambered nut- 3, somewhat larger than the r 5 prort '55, allows the compressed air to escapeom the space below the .Piston-he'ad into the atmosphere. After the piston-head returns to its normal position the attendant may-by releasing the tension exerted on the winding device by the flexible member free the pawl i5 and allow it to return under the action ofthe spring 47 to its normal position against the stop 48, thus placing the apparatus in its normal operative position.

2 5 In operating a paratus, such as trolley' cars or the like, w 'ch are provided with but one-.trolley-pole and which run in both=directions I ordinarily locate one of my trolleycatche'rs, com lete save for the winding de- 0 vice, upon eac end of the vehicle. A single winding device is then mounted upon one or the other of the shafts 32 of-the two ,trolley catchers, depending upon theconditions of use. In order to firmly but detachably se- 3 5 cure the winding device 11 onthe shafts 32, I employ the locking mem er 60. (Shown in- Figs. 2, 5, and 6.) The locldnggmember 60 comprises adportion 61, which'is pivoted-at its lower en s to a'plate 62, secured against 0 the end of the drum 35 by a nut 63, threaded on the end of the hub 37. Themember 60 is formed with a U-shaped portion 64, which is integrally connected to an extension at right angles from the portion 61. The'portion 61 is formed with an 0 en slot or notch 65 in one side, the edges 0 which engagethe Walls "of a circumferential groove 66, formed in the I end of the shaft 32. A projection 67, formed on the inner side of the free end of the U-- shaped portion 64, is adapted to be sprung into an axial o ening formed for the purpose in the end of t e shaft 32,'and thus normally prevent disengagement between the portion 61 with the walls" of the groove in the end of the shaft. vAn outturned portion 68 from the free end of the U-shaped portion 64 forms a means by which the U-shaped portion'may be readily sprung toforce the projection out of engagement with the end of the shaft 32- when it is desired to break engagement between the member 61 and the shaft 32 to allow the removal of the drums 85 and 36.

"While I have hereinbefore described and illustrated the best form ofmy invention 65 now known to me, it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that changes may be made in the embodimentv of the invention illustrated without departing from tlie spirit thereof v t What I claim as new, and desire to secure 7o byLetters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a trolley-catcher, a winding device, a flexible member'for connecting the winding device to the trolley-pole, and means for moving the winding device bo'dily and rotatably to pull down the trolley-pole when the trolley leaves the trolley-wire 2. In a trolley-catcher, a winding device, a flexible member secured thereto, and means actuated by a sudden movement of the flexi- He member in one direction for moving the winding device bodily androtatablytd pull the flexible member in the opposite direction.

3. In combination, a cylinder, a piston 10- cated therein, a cross-head connected to the piston, a valve for controlling the admission of a Working fluid into the cylinder to move the iston, a shaft journaled in the crosshead? a gear-Wheel keyed thereto, a rack-bar ,90 stationary with respect to said cylinder, the teeth of Which mesh with said gear-wheel, a a drum mounted on said shaft and normally capable of turning movement with respect thereto, a flexible member wound thereon, means actuated by a sudden pull on said flexible member for rigidly locking said drum to said shaft, and means controlled by the consequent upward movement of the cross-head admit air-into said cylinder. i e

' 4. In a trolley-catcher, a rack-bar, a shaft, a gearwheel carried bythe shaft in toothed engagement with the rack-bar, a flexible member, means including a spring normally connectin said member to said shaft, means actuated iy a sudden pull on the flexible member for rigidly connecting the shaft and flexible member, and means for thereafter moving said shaft in a direction opposite to .that of the pull imparted to it by theflexible member.

*5. In a trolley-catcher, ,a movable crosshead, a shaft carried thereby, a winding device on the shaft, a flexible member secured thereto, and means actuated by a sudden pull'in one direction on the winding device by the flexible member for bodily and rotatably moving the winding device to pull the flexible member in the opposite direction.

6, In a trolley-catcher, a slotted drum normally stationary, a second drumiwithin the first normally capable of relative movement [with respect'thereto, a flexible member or element passing through the slot in the external drum secured to the internal drum, and means for locking the drums together, and means for thereafter bodily moving the drums to exert a pull on the flexible element.

-7. In a trolley-retriever, a rack-bar, a sour- 1 0 produced thereby for controlling the valve to we ear in toothed engagement with the reekar, e winding-drum normally free to IXIOVQ' angularly with respect to said 'Spur geaJ',

' means for locking said gear and said drum rigidly together, and means for thereafter mov ing the drum'parallel to the rack-bar whereby the drum'is rotated through the engagement between the spur-gear and the rackbar.

8. In a trolley-catcher, a Winding-drum, a flexible member one end of which is secured T to the drum and the other end of which is adapted to be connected to the trolley-pole, 

